


By Any Other Name (The Man is Still the Same)

by BeautyGraceOuterSpace



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Minor Violence, Names, jim is a ball of fluff wrapped in a hard shell, jim just wants everyone to be safe, spock and jim friendship building, spock learns about jim, star trek aos - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 00:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10843098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautyGraceOuterSpace/pseuds/BeautyGraceOuterSpace
Summary: During the course of his first few months serving under Captain Kirk, Spock had noted no less than 212 breeches of code, minor though they were. The most frequent offense was in his blatant disregard for the titles of rank allotted to his crew, rarely using them unless the situation was strictly professional or urgent. Of course, exceptions were to be made while off duty; friendships among the crew were encouraged to maintain a pleasant and trustworthy work environment. It was the lack of titles on the bridge that most perplexed him.





	By Any Other Name (The Man is Still the Same)

**Author's Note:**

> A/n: I wasn't sure about this one, but it wouldn't leave me alone, so why not?

Spock was not one to disobey or disregard the rules and regulations of Starfleet. To date, he was one of the most respected and efficient commanding officers in the last 50 years, and he had received the proper accolades and recognition in turn. This of course meant nothing to him: awards and other recognitions of achievement were purely human inventions. Vulcans felt no such need to reward themselves for doing what was expected.

He found, however, that James Kirk, his new Captain and commander held no such regard for regulations. Rather, he seemed to take an almost perverse delight in bending or breaking the rules as frequently as suited him, something that perplexed Spock to no end. The rules were in place to provide the most favorable outcome in any given situation. Starfleet’s code was as time honored and respected as any, and with the proper attention to these regulations, millions of lives had been saved throughout the course of its history.

During the course of his first few months serving under Captain Kirk, Spock had noted no less than 212 breeches of code, minor though they were. The Captain frequently signed off on reports without having read them, stating that he trusted his crew implicitly, and hoped that they held enough respect for him to afford him the same respect via honesty and loyalty. The crew’s efficiency had improved by 4.3% following this proclamation, and errors in reports had decreased by over 12%. Fascinating.

He tampered with Starfleet equipment, rewiring a replicator to allow for the dispensing of hot chocolate, a human treat that he dared not partake of, but that brought Nyota great joy if her delighted smile and relaxed stance as she cradled a mug one evening was any indication. She had quietly informed him that her mother had made it for her as a child, and that she had been craving it after a string of bad days. When Spock had confronted the Captain, gently chastising him for his lack of respect for Starfleet property, Kirk had simply smiled at him and said, “I thought that everyone could use a little pick me up. They deserve it.” Fascinating.

The most frequent offense was in his blatant disregard for the titles of rank allotted to his crew, rarely using them unless the situation was strictly professional or urgent. Of course, exceptions were to be made while off duty; friendships among the crew were encouraged to maintain a pleasant and trustworthy work environment. It was the lack of titles on the bridge that most perplexed him.

Ensign Chekov was rarely addressed as such. Rather, the Captain tended to greet the young Russian with a friendly, “Pavel”, or would drop his first name and refer to him simply as “Chekov”. Lieutenant Sulu received similar treatment, becoming simply “Sulu” or “Hikaru”. Mr. Scott was simply "Scotty". It seemed that with many, he preferred to use their given name rather than their rank, Spock included, something that continued to catch him off guard. The good doctor had it the worst, Spock surmised, having been stripped of his given name and title altogether as the Captain preferred the given moniker “Bones”. This did not seem to upset the doctor any more than usual, however. In fact, he seemed almost fond of the strange name.

The Captain rarely used titles, and in turn, Spock realized, several of the crew followed suit. To Nyota, the captain was simply “Kirk". This was fitting in a way, as to the Captain she was always simply “Uhura”. Nyota had once informed him of her initial introduction to Kirk, before he had ever enlisted with Starfleet, and that the use of last names was something of a joke with them, a symbol of fond verbal skirmishes that the two continually partook of.

This was the name of choice for Mr. Sulu as well, it seemed. He had once inquired of the lieutenant why this was so, and after reassurance that he was not under reprimand for disrespect via lack of attribution of title, the pilot had confessed: “When I was falling off that drill,” here, he paused with an apologetic look at the mention of that day, “the first thing I yelled out was ‘Kirk’. I heard him yell my name back, and then he was jumping after me. He may be my Captain now, sir, but it was Cadet Kirk who saved my life. I respect him because he’s Kirk, not because he’s captain.”

Doctor Mccoy was perhaps the worst of all in this regard as well, never using rank to refer to the captain, and in fact, rarely using any variation of his given name. When he did, it seemed “Jim” was the term of choice, however, several others were far more frequent: idiot, infant, ignorant corn-fed hick, moron, brat and several other derogatory terms were most frequent from the doctor. This had, at first, alarmed Spock to no end, but it seemed the captain did not mind, and in fact found some odd sense of amusement from the insults thrown his way. Most frequently, however, when the doctor was not in a blisteringly foul mood following an illogical and irresponsible action by the captain, McCoy seemed to use a far milder term of endearment: kid. Spock was not entirely certain why McCoy had chosen this term to refer to his friend. It was true, the Captain was quite young, having only just turned 25 years old before assuming command of the Enterprise, and that Mccoy was older than many in his class at the academy, but the captain was by no means a child.

This term seemed to be saved for occasions when McCoy was either worried about the captain, or experiencing immense pride in him.

After their first mission gone wrong, a beam down to a planet that had ended rather dramatically with the captain’s arm being broken by an angry L’thardian after a communication misunderstanding, the captain had been escorted to MedBay for repair. Doctor McCoy had looked up, seem the way the captain held his arm tight to his chest, and said, “What’d you do now, Jim?” His tone had exuded exasperation, but his expression held only concern as he rushed forward to poke and prod gently at the limb. The captain had smiled sheepishly and said, “My natural charm follows me everywhere, it seems. Apparently to compliment the architecture of their temple was an insult to their god, something to do with ‘material possessions’ and ‘living without pride’.”

“So they just.. Broke your arm? _Jesus_ , kid…”

“It’s not that bad, I’ve definitely had worse. It’s fine, Bones,” the captain had replied, allowing himself to be led to a biobed for treatment.

“Doesn’t make it better, kid,” the doctor had said after a moment, his expression shifting to something sad, clouding darkly. It was here that Spock took his leave.

Spock refused to give in to such behaviors. Regardless of friendship or affection, the rules of Starfleet clearly dictated that titles were to be used while on duty. He intended to follow that rule, despite the captain’s repeated requests that he call him “Jim”. It was not until yet another away mission went wrong that Spock finally understood. His perception of the captain was in just a few moments forever changed.

Lieutenant Uhura had been beamed down to join the away party as a translator. It was a language she was not entirely familiar with, but she quickly caught on to the syntax and structure of the dialogue, and though her speech was halting, things seemed to be going well until suddenly, with a roar, the leader of the clan with whom they were conversing drew his arm back and swung in a heavy backhanded blow. Spock had taken a step forward, already knowing he would be too late to impede the strike, when suddenly Nyota was stumbling into him. He heard the dull thud of the blow, flesh on flesh. Startled, he caught her, steadying her before returning his gaze to the scene before him.

Every member of the away party, sans Uhura, the captain, and himself, had phasers drawn and pointed at the clan before them. Tension flooded the air, and Spock knew that one wrong move could prove fatal to members of either group.

The captain was on one knee, thrown to the side, having caught himself with his hands before falling completely to the ground with the force of the blow. Spock watched his shoulders heave with controlled breaths before the captain roughly shoved himself back onto his feet. He held up an authoritative hand, gesturing for his team to lower their weapons. The crew did so reluctantly. From where Spock stood, he could see the damage easily. The one who had struck him was far larger than average human size, his hand easily larger than the captain’s head, and it seemed that the blow had encompassed the entirety of his right profile. His face was red, already darkening, and blood streamed from his nose and the corner of his mouth. Far from cowed, the fury in his eyes was unmatched by any Spock had yet seen. The captain was furious.

He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground and faced the leader of the clan directly, squaring his shoulders and roaring out in their native tongue: “T’ney fotula gath’i’yalat! Aht yaelen shoruk nyealeth!” Spock did not know what the captain had said, but he judged by Nyota’s stunned expression that it was something rather powerful. The clan leader tensed briefly before bowing his head in acquiescence. Without another sound, he and his fellows turned and walked away.

The captain turned to face the crew, eye rapidly swelling shut. He looked immediately to Uhura, stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder gently. Softly, he said, “Are you alright?” Still stunned, she simply nodded jerkily, unable to tear her eyes from his face. The captain nodded in satisfaction, and, bringing a hand to prod gingerly at his jaw, said, “This meeting is over.” Flipping open his communicator, he called for beam up to the Enterprise.

Upon their return, it was quickly determined by Doctor McCoy that the captain had severe bruising, and cracked cheekbone, and had nearly dislocated his jaw. Had the blow struck Lieutenant Uhura, he declared, the consequences would have been far worse. Even as he berated the captain for getting himself injured yet again, there was a fondness in his voice that could not be missed. Standing at attention as Doctor McCoy worked, it was after all, Spock’s duty as first officer to check on the well-being of his captain, he heard the man in question murmur quietly, around the swelling in his jaw:

“I w’sn’t gonna let him hit ‘er, Bones.”

To which the doctor simply responded, “I know, kid.” Pride was evident in his tone.

Here, Spock spoke. “You’re dedication to your duty to protect the crew is… commendable, Captain.”

“Tha’s not why I did it, Sp’ck,” the captain mumbled, sounding almost disappointed. “I did it b’cause she’s my friend. Didn’t want ‘er to get hurt. Not if I can help it.”

And suddenly, with alarming clarity, Spock understood.

The Captain was not the one who dove off the drill after Mr. Sulu, _Jim_ was.

The Captain was not the one who spent his off shifts in Engineering with Mr. Scott running calculations and experimenting with new technology, _Jim_ was.

The Captain was not the one who presented Mr. Chekov with russian texts when the young ensign expressed a bit of homesickness, _Jim_ was.

The Captain was not the one who shared mealtimes with Doctor McCoy, laughing and quietly discussing fond memories of their time at academy, or of the doctor’s daughter back on earth, _Jim_ was.

The Captain was not the one who spent hours reworking a replicator to provide a comforting treat, nor dove into harm’s way to protect Nyota, _Jim_ was.

James Kirk was not an enigma at all. In fact, he was rather straightforward. He did not do any of these things because of a sense of duty or obligation. He did none of these things because he was the captain. He did these things simply because that was who he was. He was simply Jim.

And so, swallowing back his logical desire to follow the proper regulations and afford him with the proper respect endowed with his title, Spock embraced the rather human desire to express gratitude and friendship, and he responded accordingly:

“I thank you, Jim.”

And certainly the smile he received in response was worth the slight breech of regulation. Of this, Spock was sure.


End file.
